Azure AD (Identity)

Azure AD Directory Sync went GA last week. This new tool expands on the capabilities previously offered by DirSync offering vastly improved control over the attributes that are synced from your on-prem AD to Azure AD. That control is simple to use since the tool understand the variety of cloud services that use Azure AD. Also in this release:

Active Directory and Exchange multi-forest environments can be extended now to the cloud.

Control over which attributes are synchronized based on desired cloud services.

Selection of accounts to be synchronized through domains, OUs, etc.

Ability to set up the connection to AD with minimal Windows Server AD privileges.

Setup synchronization rules by mapping attributes and controlling how the values flow to the cloud.

Preview AAD Premium password change and reset to AD on-premises.

The education team also released a great little Office 365 AD Sync FAQ with some answers that folks in education and the wider world will like.

Azure Active Directory Basic is now generally available for enterprise customers, it sits somewhere between the free Azure AD you get with, say, Office 365 and Azure AD premium as available with EMS.

Devices (Hardware and OSes)

Last week we released details of a cool new keyboard that lets you connect a Windows, iOS and Android mobile device using BlueTooth and easily switch between them. This is going directly into my kit bag when I can get my hands on one!

Customers

In 2012, Delta Air Lines faced a difficult challenge – equipping its employees with connected mobile devices while in the air while keeping both customer and corporate data secure. You’ll notice that this case study is on a partner’s website (AirWatch). Microsoft is a complex business and Delta chose Windows Phone devices from Nokia but wanted their EMM platform to be with AirWatch of course we make sure our devices get a great experience, even when managed by a competitive offering. It’s good for our customers.

Strategy

Last week Brad Anderson directly addressed why the he IT industry is changing in ways that really favor IT Pros in his podcast.

Gartner’s position on what any enterprise tech company is doing is important when you talk to the CXO level folks that make decisions. They seem to place inordinate trust in the opinions of Gartner and I think some probably use it as a safety blanket…well the Gartner blogs people created a single Magic Quadrant diagram showing where all Microsoft tech sits. Useful and will probably make it’s way into future presentations.

Related

Simon May is an Infrastructure Technology Evangelist at Microsoft concentrating on Devices and Services but with special interests in deployment and device management. Simon is a professional public speaker and the author of several books on Windows. Opinions on this blog are his own.